Nepal, from the jungle to Tibet

Nepal is a country I bring close to my heart… On this adventure, I will share with you the broad Nepali spirit, from the tropical jungle in Chitwan to the remote kingdom of Mustang, in the Annapurna region. Starting in Kathmandu, the capital city of the Republic of Nepal, we will head off towards Pokhara, the “capital of adventure”. From here we will go all the way up to Lower Mustang, the ancient kingdom of Lo, home to some of the world’s better kept Tibetan villages and culture. After the cold, we head towards the tropical heat, finishing our trip exploring the jungles in Chitwan.

Our accommodation sets right in the heart of Kathmandu. The Thamel is a vibrant area with a bit of everything, at any time of the day. We recommend you arriving in Kathmandu during the morning/lunchtime, as we have a scheduled visit late afternoon to Pashupatinath, where we can enjoy the Aarti, a traditional Hindu celebration.

After breakfast, we will go straight to Kathmandu’s most iconic stupa, the Swayambhunath Stupa, commonly known as the Monkey Temple. It’s a nice walk across town (just over 2km) that allows us to see and embrace the city, and it’s scents and lifestyle. On the way, we will visit the Shova Bhagawati, as well as the Buddhist cremation site, where we might see some traditional celebrations as well.
During the afternoon, we will visit the Sharada Shelter for Children, the NGO we support here in Nepal, to hand them some of our donations, see how they’re doing and hear some of their inspiring stories.

We wake up early, as we have hours ahead of us until we reach Pokhara. The winding road is not a easy ride, and no matter how comfortable the bus is, it is always longer than we would wish. Every two hours (roughly), we will stop for coffee, stretching and beautiful-mountain-seeing.
As soon as we reach Pokhara, we notice the spectacular Himalayan vista the city is adorned with. We can see Dhaulagiri, Manaslu, Machhapuchhare, the five peaks of Annapurna and others.
We will check in to our hotel, conveniently located by the lakeside, perfect to reset the energy from the long road trip of today.

Pokhara is also known as Paradise city, and it’s easy to see why! Blessed with stunning panoramic views of the Annapurna range and Machhapuchhare peak, reflecting on Phewa lake, it’s a city with a favourable climate all year round.
Today is a good day for our last purchases before our Annapurna trek, as well as our “prep trek”: we will be visiting the World Peace Pagoda, on top of the hill, where we can enjoy a stunning sunset.
Tonight is movie night, at the worlds most beautiful open-air cinema!

The drive o Jomsom is a very challenging one! I thought a lot about the best way to take us to the top, and by far this option I chose can be a controversial one: we’re taking the local bus. The local bus is quite an experience: it’s entirely hand-painted, with traditional music playing out loud, bouncing its way up the Annapurna range, giving way to donkeys and goats, which can sometimes delay our already long trip. The maximum speed can sometimes reach the astonishing speed of 5km/h.

We cross the Panga Khola, and reach Ekle Bhatti, aka “the lonely pub”. Here we can have a rest to enjoy a cup of tea and take some photos of the vistas. When we reach the Kali Gandaki river, we’re almost there!
Kagbeni is an interesting windswept village situated on the main age-old Trans Himalayan salt trade route to Tibet via Upper Mustang area. The trail from Jomsom to Kagbeni winds through the Kali Gandaki river bank, the world’s deepest gorge. If you are lucky, you may have the opportunity to see Saligram – the symbol of God Vishnu, the carrier of right life, wealth, protection, health, pleasure and spiritual blessing. Kagbeni is the gateway of popular Upper Mustang Trek. From Kagbeni, we get great views of Nilgiri, Dhaulagiri and Tukuche peaks.

We continue our trek up to Muktinath. We make more stops than usual because the way is always up and also because the next two nights our accommodation is in the same place, and we’ll have time to rest our backpacks. In the picturesque scenery, we arrive at the lost villages of Lower Mustang, crossing the famous hanging bridges of the Himalayas…

The day is divided into two possibilities: the conquest of a new altitude, on a painful trek to the highest pass in the world: Thorong La Pass, at 5416m, with our local guide; or trekking through the local villages and temples, in an intense cultural immersion of these peoples who have inhabited the Himalayas for centuries. Both possibilities bring us countless blessings that we can only achieve in this region.

A painful day ahead: we will drive back to Pokhara by jeep in the morning. This journey will take us the entire day, but waiting for us are comfortable beds and the beautiful memories of the top of the Himalayas and new-found inner peace!

With a new perspective of Pokhara, the day is perfect for paragliding! After the altitude conquest, nothing like flying over the incredible scenery of Lake Phewa, and seeing the peaks from a different angle. Because these activities are optional, the price is not included, but it is highly recommended!

This morning we will go to Chitwan, Nepal’s oldest national park. We get used to the new tropical climate, and hope that on the following day we are blessed with the visit of the national parks particular inhabitants: tigers, rhinos, bears and elephants…
Our accommodation is a pioneer in sustainability and is made of natural materials, with a water reuse system, solar heating. Here’s an example here in Nepal!

Today is jungle day! We will do various activities throughout the day, inside the National Park, where we can observe the splendour of the magnificent animals in their natural habitat. We will always be accompanied by experienced local guides, who will tell us stories and facts of this spectacular environment.

Our last day in the jungle is spent exploring the local community, the traditional Tharu villages, with their traditional clay and bamboo houses. We relax in the ecolodge and see the fantastic sunset in Chitwan, with its warm tones, an incredible Nepal postcard.

In the morning we make our last bus trip, back to Kathmandu, and immediately we head to Bhaktapur, our last stop on this unforgettable journey. Bhaktapur is the ancient capital of Nepal. Known for pottery and temples, it is the perfect place to finish our trip on a high!

Today is farewell time… Our drivers will be waiting for us at the hotel. We will miss Nepal, and we say our goodbyes with a new peaceful mind and a richer travellers soul. May the experience of this trip and our contribution to some of the causes we’ve witnessed enrich us towards a more tolerant and peaceful world!

Namaste… and see you soon!

Accommodation: –Meals: breakfast

Included

14 Nights in hotel and jungle lodge

Transports: tourist bus, 4x4 jeeps, local bus and airpot transfer on the dates of the program